A Statewide Professional Development Program for California Foreign Language Teachers

The California Foreign Language Project (CFLP), established in 1988, is a voluntary professional development program designed to improve and expand elementary, secondary, and postsecondary foreign language teaching in California. CFLP consists of nine regional sites that work in conjunction with a central office to increase professional development for over 600 foreign language teachers annually. CFLP provides teacher participants with three major professional development services: (1) workshops provided by the regional sites, (2) partnerships with low-performing schools/districts, and (3) an annual Summer Leadership Seminar. Sites submit a portfolio at the end of each program year that allows them to demonstrate their effectiveness in meeting CFLP’s goals. Evaluation results indicate that over a three-year period, the CFLP increased opportunities for participants to strengthen academic content knowledge and develop teacher leadership skills. Results also show that participants incorporated workshop materials in their sample lesson plans and their classroom teaching.